佛說佛名經 26.8

26.8

「弟子等！已懺悔煩惱障，已懺悔業障，所餘報障今當次第披陳懺悔。經中說言：『業報至時，非空非海中，非入山石間，無有他方所，脫之不受報，唯有懺悔力，乃能得除滅。』何以知然？釋提桓因五衰相現，恐懼切心歸誠三寶，死相即滅得延天年。如是等比，經教所明其事非一，故知懺悔實能滅禍。但凡夫之人若不遇善友獎導，則靡惡而不造，致使大命將盡臨窮之際，地獄惡相皆現在前。當爾之時悔懼交至，不預修善臨窮方悔，悔之於後將何及乎？殃禍異處宿預嚴待，當獨趣入遠到他所，但得前行入於大鑊，身心摧碎精神痛苦，如此之時欲求一禮一懺豈復可得？

"Disciples! Having repented of the hindrance of afflictions and having repented of the karmic hindrance (karmāvaraṇa), we shall now set forth and repent of the remaining retributive hindrances in due order. A sūtra states: 'When the karmic retribution arrives, it is not in the sky, nor in the ocean, nor by entering into mountain rocks; there is no other place where one may escape it and not receive the retribution. Only through the power of kṣamā can it be eradicated.' How is this known to be so? When Śakra Devānām Indra showed the five signs of decay, filled with fear, he sincerely took refuge in the triratna; the signs of death were immediately extinguished and his celestial life was prolonged. Examples such as this illuminated by the scriptural teachings are not solitary; thus we know that kṣamā can truly extinguish misfortune. Yet if ordinary beings do not meet a good friend to guide them, there is no evil they will not commit, causing the evil signs of hell to appear before them when their life is ending and they reach the brink of exhaustion. At that moment, remorse and terror arrive together; having failed to cultivate good beforehand and only repenting when on the brink of exhaustion, how can repentance afterward avail? Misfortune and disaster lie prepared in another realm, having long awaited them; alone, one must proceed far to another place, merely going forward to enter the great cauldron, where body and mind are crushed to pieces and the spirit suffers acutely. At such a time, how could one still obtain even a single homage or a single act of kṣamā?